I've never been one to want inflatable mattresses. There seems to be no way to determine if the one you get will be any good — regardless of price. But I'm trying to increase confort and cut down on weight and space.

So what do people use that is astonishingly good? What is easy to set up and take down? What stays inflated? What resists punctures?

I've used an inflatable mattress for several years, and found that get get soft and deflate during the week. They tend to sag and leave me laying on the hard playa. I switched to a thin, self inflating mattress (25 inches wide----NOT 21.5 inches) and found that it's just the right firmness and doesn't sag in the middle when I sit up.

I have tried 4 different types of air mattresses on the playa. All of them deflated bit-by-bit over a 2 day period. guess the excessive heat during the day causes them to over-inflate and vent, then the cool of night causes the air inside to compact. I have one of those battery powered pumps and I just run that every couple evenings. Not really a problem.

Love Rice

Roach: "I feel like in this day and age, every girl should know how to build a flamethrower."

We have a double self-inflater, topped with a memory foam pad, flannel sheets, and a quilt. Takes up a lot of room in the trailer, but so worth it. Our tent is pretty dustless, so it stays fairly clean all week (but that's what the quilt is for, to cover it all up). Tried air mattresses, but it sucked for two people because it dipped and shimmied, and chilled me completely. Coleman brand air mattress, hated it with a passion.

171/348 wrote:A foam pad or even a piece of cardboard between the air mattress and the playa will keep it from sucking the heat out of you.

Having a sleeping bag rated for around freezing would help.

I find that it never seems to get cold enough for my air mattress to make me cold. I only have that problem when the temperature is below freezing When I am winter camping I always put a thick blanket between my air mattress and my sleeping bag...

Love Rice

Roach: "I feel like in this day and age, every girl should know how to build a flamethrower."

At the burn I do typically have to add a few pumps every couple days as the plastic expands from the heat & me sleeping on it, but I've never ended up on the ground. With my 30degree sleeping bag and some warm clothing, I don't need any addition insulation to be very comfortable.

I second the suggestion to bring a backpacking sleeping pad (25" wide is a must, I think). I have two as backups in case my heavily used mattress quits on me, but I find a $40 air mattress MUCH more comfortable than my $100+ inflatable backpacking pad.

Last edited by MacGlenver on Tue Apr 23, 2013 10:36 am, edited 2 times in total.

"just two indecisive cowboys, trying to play a word game." - piehole"Just apply intelligence and discretion and you should be able to get away with just about anything." - Ugly Dougly

Zhust wrote:Thanks for everyone's responses so far, but I was kind of looking for brands of mattresses that were better quality ... Is Coleman still a good brand?

AntiM remarked above that she hated her Coleman mattress.

But it would seem that MacGlenver likes his.

Yep, I'm a fan of mine. I think with Coleman it depends on what you're buying. I don't htink Coleman tents and sleeping bags are typically regarded as high quality, but camp stoves are probably considered pretty good. For air mattresses I'd say they're middle of the road. When i did a bunch of searching a while back, I wasn't convinced that there was such a thing as a "high quality" air mattress. They all generate complaints from people who have bad experiences. The only fancy one I ran across (if I recall) was one at REI, but they were probably just overcharging because they're REI. Normally I love REI and find things to be somewhat reasonably priced (given the convenience & return policy), but the air mattress prices seemed extreme (a search just now shows only a Kelty brand mattress for $130+). If you're concerned about it popping and have the extra space, just buy two colemans or another reasonably priced brand and you shouldnt have to worry.

"just two indecisive cowboys, trying to play a word game." - piehole"Just apply intelligence and discretion and you should be able to get away with just about anything." - Ugly Dougly

I also use a Coleman queen sized 18" high inflatable mattress and I love it! I have to pump it up every other day (I have a battery operated pump and my bed's ready in 5-7 minutes) but I love it! It's comfy and cozy. I sleep very well on it.

Sometimes I'm confused by what I think is really obvious. But what I think is really obvious obviously isn't obvious.

FWIW...used an inflatable for years, but finally switched to a foldable cot...but not practical if you're space is limited. The inflatable queen was comfortable enough, but struggled to get up out of it...plus it took up valuable floor space. Now I have a very comfortable bed with extra storage underneath.

Don't bore your friends with all your troubles. Tell your enemies instead, for they will delight in hearing about them.

We've tried queen air mattresses for camping, they work well for us over a weekend trip but not really well for 7 days in the desert. Our problem was that, like many others have said, its a pain in the ass for 2 people. We've switched to taking futon mattress, fuck it.

On Easter my uncle tried to pawn off a lot of his camping gear on us, he has A TON of camping gear. He mentioned having 4 or 5 twin size air mattresses. I asked why he had a bunch of twins. He then looked at me like I'm an idiot and in a "duh, everyone knows" sort of fashion that twin air mattresses last longer than queens or doubles, pushed side by side they are large enough for two people, but when one person moves it doesn't bounce the other person around, and if you stack them even if one goes flat you don't wake up on the ground. Hence 4 mattresses for him and his wife, plus a spare.

Fucken genius!And here I thought I knew a lot about camping.

Why don't ya stick your head in that hole and find out? ~pieholePlan for the worst, expect the best. Make the most out of it under any conditions. If you cannot do that you will never enjoy yourself. ~CrispyDave

Zhust> I've used 2 different models of AREOBED's http://www.aerobed.com/CategoryAll.aspx both the indoor and outdoor model. both were quite comfortable, due their ability to adjust the firmness by changing the air pressure. The AREOBED's differ from most inflatables in that they feature a LARGE deflation port and a nice built in inflation pump.

Now for the BAD news..... They will develop leaks.... it's not a matter of if but when!

The leaks will usally start small and just be anoying, requiring you to pump up the matteress each night... BUT it will get worse...... in the middle of the night you could be smushing around on a partialy deflated matteress.

If you have not yet commited to an inflatable, I'd suggest looking into a cot

The PakMat that they make looks pretty nice and super compact. Though, a bit pricing.

Why don't ya stick your head in that hole and find out? ~pieholePlan for the worst, expect the best. Make the most out of it under any conditions. If you cannot do that you will never enjoy yourself. ~CrispyDave

Ive got a 6 or so year old Coleman double tall queen mattress that I've taken every year. Ill refill it every 3-4 days with air and have no problem. But im a small guy and typicly on it by myself so more weight might leak faster. Best suggestion is whatever you buy go camping a few times with it and see how it does over a weekend.

The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair.

If you use a pump to blow up your mattress, you should wet the valve with lots of water to keep air from leaking out. This may be a reason they deflate slowly over time. If you blow it up by mouth, there will be moisture (spit ) on the valve, but not with a pump.

Purchase a thin, cheap polyester blanket from one of the large chain stores. Make sure it's the thin crap that no one really wants. They are something like $2.50 on clearance with Santa and snowmen on them. Safety pin this blanket on top of your sleeping bag and you will be so warm the whole night and you will probably have to remove the blanket. The crappy polyester reflects back your body heat more than you'd expect. (a thick, fluffy, expensive blanket will not reflect the heat back as well)

Shambala wrote:If you use a pump to blow up your mattress, you should wet the valve with lots of water to keep air from leaking out. This may be a reason they deflate slowly over time. If you blow it up by mouth, there will be moisture (spit ) on the valve, but not with a pump.

I slept well on my Coleman last year. Previous years I used a thin one-man inflatable camping Thermarest, and while it worked, it was too thin, too small, and I wanted something better for my one week in the desert. The Coleman worked good, inflated quickly, and was nice and wide. I just brought a sleeping bag so I didn't need any heat-insulating sheet on the mattress.

"The essence of tyranny is not iron law. It is capricious law." -- Christopher Hitchens

BBadger wrote:I slept well on my Coleman last year. Previous years I used a thin one-man inflatable camping Thermarest, and while it worked, it was too thin, too small, and I wanted something better for my one week in the desert. The Coleman worked good, inflated quickly, and was nice and wide. I just brought a sleeping bag so I didn't need any heat-insulating sheet on the mattress.

I never could completely make my peace with the cold and low seating of air mattresses, though I slept on them for my first four Burns and it certainly didn't kill me. I love the Liberty Mountain Swedish folding cot. Has a 2 inch thick mattress and a lattice of springs underneath, so it's neither firm nor completely squishy under one's back. (However, someone who prefers a very firm sleeping surface would do better--and spend a little less--with a more traditional cot). I asked for it as a either a Christmas or birthday present, and I love to shove my stuff underneath it to help keep my tent tidy. It's one of my favorite all-time pieces of Burn equipment.

*** 2017 Survival Guide ***"I must've lost it when I was twerking at the trash fence." -- BBadger

Savannah wrote:I never could completely make my peace with the cold and low seating of air mattresses, though I slept on them for my first four Burns and it certainly didn't kill me. I love the Liberty Mountain Swedish folding cot. Has a 2 inch thick mattress and a lattice of springs underneath, so it's neither firm nor completely squishy under one's back. (However, someone who prefers a very firm sleeping surface would do better--and spend a little less--with a more traditional cot). I asked for it as a either a Christmas or birthday present, and I love to shove my stuff underneath it to help keep my tent tidy. It's one of my favorite all-time pieces of Burn equipment.

This is what plagiarism looks like!

Don't bore your friends with all your troubles. Tell your enemies instead, for they will delight in hearing about them.